At the beginning, I became a county magistrate with greed of 500 million. The empress asked me to be

"Chen Bao, are you willing to serve me in the future?"

When all the actions were proceeding in an orderly manner, Xia Yun took the initiative to invite Chen Bao.

There is no other reason.

Chen Bao's courage and sense of responsibility were appreciated by Xia Yun.

In this age of cannibalism, Chen Bao not only did not abandon the thousands of people in the village.

Instead, he took them out as a group to rob, and during the robbery, he was able to ensure that no one was hurt.

This is enough to prove that although Chen Bao is extremely courageous, he is not a cruel and vicious person.

"I am willing... willing!"

When Chen Bao heard that Xia Yun was planning to recruit him, excitement instantly appeared on his face, and even his voice began to stutter.

Serving under a governor is an opportunity not everyone has!

"Very good. From today on, you will be a lieutenant general under this government, and you will receive one hundred taels of silver as salary every month."

"Also, I will give you one day to organize the young and strong men in the village to join the army."

"All those who join the army can receive a one-time payment of ten taels of silver as a settlement allowance, and an additional five taels of silver per month as a salary."

Xia Yun spoke up one after another, talking about the benefits of working under him.

Hearing this, Chen Bao's eyes became even more excited.

A monthly salary of one hundred taels of silver!

What is this concept?

For the lowest class of people, the total living expenses for the whole year is only about five taels of silver.

Nowadays, the savings of all the villagers in Zhangjia Village added together may not be enough to equal five taels of silver!

"I am willing to swear my loyalty to you till death!"

As Chen Bao spoke, he fell to his knees with a plop, his eyes gradually becoming moist.

Seeing this, Xia Yun took the initiative to walk to Chen Bao and patted him gently on the shoulder.

"Get up, this governor took a fancy to you and promoted you because of your sense of responsibility. I hope you will not let this governor down in the future."

Xia Yun smiled slightly.

As his position became higher and his power grew, he had more and more things to take care of.

He arranged for Qin Tianye to garrison in Shanyin County, and Jiang Wenzhong was responsible for the transportation of food and fodder for the imperial army.

And these two people also took away almost all the generals.

Now, the only general around Xia Yun, besides Chong Heihu, is Lieutenant General Zhao Xinlei.

Xia Yun believed that in time, Chen Bao might be able to become a great help to him!

……

When Chen Bao became the lieutenant general under Xia Yun, the first thing he did was.

Following Xia Yun's instructions, they began recruiting soldiers throughout Zhangjia Village.

The result is self-evident.

Attracted by Chen Bao's personal appeal and generous salary, a large number of young and middle-aged men in Zhangjia Village chose to join the army.

In just a few hours.

Chen Bao recruited more than three hundred soldiers!

In Zhangjia Village, which originally had a population of more than a thousand people, almost every household had at least one male member who joined the army.

Afterwards, Xu Wan'er personally took out money and distributed ten taels of silver to each household as resettlement fees.

The people of Zhangjia Village were so grateful that they shed tears and called Xia Yun the "honest master".

The ten taels of silver received at one time perfectly solved the labor shortage problem in Zhangjia Village caused by the young and middle-aged men joining the army.

What's more, after these young and middle-aged men join the army, they can receive a salary of five taels of silver every month!

When the time came to early morning.

The team that Xia Yun sent to nearby villages to provide disaster relief in the evening also returned to Zhangjia Village one after another.

From these people, Xia Yun learned about the current situation of the nearby villages.

In general, there are basically no people in the nearby villages, with only two to three hundred women and children in each village.

At this time, Xia Yun couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.

According to the regulations of the Daliang Dynasty, ordinary people did not need to perform military service or military service.

Even if the imperial court wanted to recruit soldiers, it would do so by spending money to recruit them from all over the country.

So why did the Chengtang County government arrest so many men?

Xia Yun couldn't figure out a clue for a moment, so he had to call Chen Bao over.

However, Chen Bao had no idea how to solve this problem.

He has always lived in Zhangjia Village and knows very little about the outside world.

In the end, Xia Yun chose to suppress his doubts temporarily.

After all, officials from Chengtang County will come to inspect these villages tomorrow. Once they catch the person, the truth will naturally come to light.

As the quiet moonlight fell on the earth, the sound of cicadas chirped among the nearby mountains and fields.

Under Xia Yun's order, everyone except the guards fell asleep.

For the people of Zhangjia Village, this is the most rare night in these years.

All the bitterness and hardships of the past will soon disappear with the appearance of Xia Yun!

……

The next day.

After a long journey, Xia Yun and his group slept for about ten hours.

It was not until noon when the scorching sun began to burn the earth that Xia Yun's people woke up from their sleep.

However, the first thing after waking up surprised Xia Yun.

"Governor, you must make the decision for us, the people!"

"My husband was arrested by the government last year and has not come back yet. Governor, please release him!"

"We are almost unable to survive, Governor, please take action!"

"..."

Outside the hall of the Zhangjia Village Ancestral Hall, a large group of women and children who had gathered from several nearby villages knelt in unison outside the hall door.

All the women had sad tears on their faces and kept crying out to the sky.

Xia Yun, who had just walked out of the lobby, felt a pang of sadness when he saw this scene.

If it weren't for those corrupt officials who harmed the people, the people wouldn't be in such a state!

Afterwards, Xia Yun immediately asked Chong Heihu to prepare meals for the women and children kneeling outside the ancestral hall.

He quickly began to understand the whole story from Xu Wan'er.

"Sir, the guards who were sent out to distribute disaster relief grain yesterday spread the news that you were in Zhangjia Village."

"So early this morning, almost all the women and children from the nearby villages came to Zhangjia Village."

Xu Wan'er quickly told the whole story.

Hearing this, Xia Yun's face was filled with gloom.

I felt increasingly confused and puzzled about the whereabouts of the young and middle-aged men in these villages.

As time gradually approached noon, Chong Heihu prepared the meal.

Xia Yun then ordered people to build a sunshade on the spot to prevent the women and children from being hurt by the scorching sun.

Of course, that was when hundreds of women and children were wolfing down their food under the awnings.

The officials from Chengtang County finally arrived at Zhangjia Village!